Leadership Training Library Videos Help Members in New Callings

By Melissa Merrill

Church News and Events

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More than a year after its launch in September 2011, Leadershiplibrary.lds.org continues to be a valuable resource for members—containing approximately 100 videos in 11 languages offering help concerning Church callings related to bishoprics, high priests, elders, Aaronic Priesthood, Relief Society, Young Women, Primary, Sunday School, mission leaders, and young single adults.

For years Church leaders have noticed a need for video-based training.

The videos were created to correspond with the sections of Handbook 2: Administering the Church, which was introduced in November 2010, and include unscripted footage of real wards and branches in a variety of countries, including Guatemala, Korea, and England.

“Members throughout the Church—in more ‘established’ areas as well as areas where the Church is newer—can benefit from the training and explanation these videos offer,” said Ray Robinson, a director in the Church’s Priesthood Department. “As we see real-life examples of leaders serving, we can learn how to serve in our own homes and in the Church.”

Regardless of where they were filmed, the videos provide an opportunity for members of the Church in any location to learn from each other.

“I cannot teach what these clips teach,” one Primary president in Nicaragua wrote. “I cannot paint a picture of how successful Primary can be. To me, these are of great value.”

During the February 2011 Worldwide Leadership Training Meeting, Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said, “The purpose of [the Leadership Training Library] is to help local leaders learn, teach, and apply principles and policies from the handbook.”

One of the features of the Leadership Training Library is that topics of special interest to the Brethren are added regularly. Also, new material is added to the library quarterly, as Area Presidencies identify additional training needs.

In South America, one leader has found the Leadership Training Library an up-to-date resource to be utilized in area council training meetings.

“Priesthood and auxiliary training is a challenge for two reasons: restrictions on … travel, and the volume of information in the handbook and manuals,” he wrote. “This marvelous resource enables us to resolve both of those problems.”

The Leadership Training Library is not intended to be an exhaustive training resource, but a site to help members get started. Members should still study Handbook 2 and the scriptures, counsel as presidencies and with priesthood leaders, and perhaps confer with other members who have served in the calling in the past and who may be familiar with particular situations that exist in their community.